… Kiffin and his staff of relentless recruiters had two months to scramble and assemble a class, and they were praised for compiling a crop that was strengthened with the late additions of safety Janzen Jackson, all-purpose back David Oku and tailback Bryce Brown, the nation’s No. 1 prospect. Rivals.com ranked Tennessee’s 23 signees 10th in the country, but only eight from that class are still with the program following a string of arrests and academic shortcomings.

… Unless they want to be the first to have an awkward meeting with SEC commissioner Mike Slive, schools who have prospective players announcing their decisions on National Signing Day simply have to leave at least one of their 25 spots open. There are always backup plans, of course, but the pressure has increased for those kinds of fringe players to get their signature into a school before their spot is gone.

Tennessee could very well face this kind of situation. The Vols currently have 21 commitments — 22 when you count Tino Thomas, a grayshirt from last year who has already enrolled in classes — and a number of targets who may or may not help them fill out their class to its maximum capacity.

Wide receivers Cordarrelle Patterson (Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College) and Quinshad Davis (Gaffney, S.C.) both have UT in their final group of schools. Defensive tackle Korren Kirven (Lynchburg, Va.) will decide between UT and Virginia Tech. Marshall commitment Amos Leggett, a four-star cornerback from Miami, was a surprise visitor on campus this weekend. Miami commitment Jacoby Briscoe (Lafayette, La.) is still being courted by UT coaches.

Sure, if UT somehow gets all of the above to sign with it, there’s a problem, one that would have to be remedied by rescinding a longtime commitment’s offer at the last second — an absolute public relations nightmare.

But you can also say there’s a problem if UT doesn’t get at least three players from that group, considering that six players have de-committed from the Vols throughout the recruiting process, the majority of whom were directly or indirectly told to look elsewhere because of a potential numbers crunch.

I don’t think Dooley cares one bit about a PR nightmare at this point. (He’s a Saban disciple, don’t forget.) So I vote for falling short. I think that’ll go over like a dream in light of him having run other commitments off.

Crawford said he talked with Georgia Tech assistant Charles Kelly on Sunday and was assured that he still had a scholarship offer waiting for him after returning from Miami. [Emphasis added.]

Not that it did Tech any good.

Georgia Tech lost one of its recruits on Sunday.

Antonio Crawford, a defensive back from Tampa, flipped from the Yellow Jackets to Miami. He had been committed to Georgia Tech since last summer, but changed his mind after getting a last-minute offer from Miami a few days ago and taking a recruiting trip with the Hurricanes over the weekend.

Capitulation to a 17-year old is only worse when it doesn’t pay off. Don’t cry for Paul, though – Johnson’s found his new Bey Bey.

“They said I was a pretty big dude for wide receiver and if I grow too much that I could play linebacker,” Henry said.

You know, that’s what every quarterback wants to hear from the candidate to be his next big target.

The NCAA will look this summer at retooling its Division I governance structure amid what some officials say is growing sentiment to further split its top football-playing schools.

Now there’s some mealy-mouthed bullshit falling from Emmert’s mouth about how this has nothing to do with changing the competitive format of D-1, but let’s face it – if the big boys are given free rein to govern themselves, does anybody really think that’s good news for San Jose State? Just do the math.

… The NCAA has operated in its current structure for nearly 3 1/2 decades. The more than 1,000 school association formed Divisions I, II and III in 1973, and separated the football-playing members of Division I into what now are known as the bowl and championship subdivisions in 1978.

Disparities in the 120-member bowl subdivision have grown increasingly pronounced since then. Individual schools’ athletics revenues ranged from $3.8 million to nearly $144 million in 2010, according to the NCAA, prompting the less wealthy to lean more heavily on student fees and other institutional subsidization to try to stay competitive.

Once the split becomes official, look for major changes in how D-1 football operates, since the major conferences will be free to act on several fronts without worrying about sharing with the small fry. (Then, the $64,000 question will become what happens to the basketball tourney, but I’ll leave that for others to fret over.)

After seeing some of the images from JoePa’s funeral, the question I wished somebody had asked Paterno was whether he would allow any of his grandchildren to spend unsupervised time with Jerry Sandusky. An honest answer to a question like that might have done more to bring a sense of closure to the sad mess at the end of his life than the pap those with access to the man served up.

Even when he does the right thing, Charlie Weis can’t help indulging his inner ass. Because nothing says class like getting in a pissing match with a 19-year old:

“Today, Brock Berglund is released from his scholarship at KU to pursue other opportunities. Brock and his representatives have publicly stated their case without any public response from me to this point. Brock spent the majority of the past calendar year in Colorado taking online courses at KU’s expense, which was nearly $40,000. At no time was Brock an active participant of the football team. Once competition was recruited at the quarterback position, Brock decided he no longer wanted to be a part of the team. He was expected to show up for a mandatory team meeting on Sunday, Jan. 15, but he sent an email less than two hours before the meeting to inform us that he had decided to transfer and would not be attending the meeting. He was dismissed after following through on that promise.

Although Brock has been granted his release, I only wish that he had showed the same courtesy that other players showed and came to talk to me. He decided that he did not have to follow the same protocol as the other departing members of the football team. I believe no individual should be more important than the team. Brock did not see it that way.”

This from a guy who’s been with how many different teams in the past three seasons?

My favorite part:

Although Weis and KU athletic director Sheahon Zenger said they were acting on principle on this one, the delay in releasing Berglund drew criticism from many. When asked if he was concerned about any negative affects this incident might have in dealing with future players, Weis was blunt.

“No,” he said. “As a matter of fact, it has had absolutely no impact on recruiting.”

It hasn’t? It sure as hell should. That line about being a jerk on principle ought to go over swimmingly with many recruits and their parents.

Quote Of The Day

“It's definitely different not knowing exactly who it's gonna be, but in a way, I feel like that's good,” he said. “One of my old coaches from Valdosta told me that competition is one of the best coaches. And I feel like, as well as each one of those three guys is performing, they're not gonna do anything but make each other better.” -- Jay Rome, The Red & Black, 3/25/15